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Thursday, 11 August 2011 03:47 PM EDT
The ratio of buy orders to sell orders, a measure of investor demand, was 2.5 for municipal-bond trades on the BondDesk Group LLC platform yesterday, meaning there were more buyers than sellers, said Chris Shayne, senior market strategist for the group, a bond marketplace that works with dealers, advisers and discount brokers. That ratio showed demand was about normal and up from earlier in the week when demand was "substantially" weaker than normal, said Shayne, who's based in Mill Valley, California.
Investors may not be dumping their bonds in part because they're more focused on the underlying ability of issuers to repay principal and coupons, said Tom Spalding, who oversees about $10 billion in municipal securities in mutual funds and closed-end funds at Nuveen Investments Inc. in Chicago.
"They're taking a longer-term view," Spalding said. "The overwhelming evidence is that municipal credit is still a relative safe haven for investors."
Flows this week have been mixed in the mutual funds Spalding manages with "modest" inflows to short-term municipal-bond funds and similar outflows from long-term funds, he said.
Collateral Damage
"We have not seen the collateral damage in muni land," said Marilyn Cohen, president of Los Angeles-based Envision Capital Management Inc., which manages $328 million in fixed- income assets for individuals. "People were braced for it. They understood it does not mean that the credit metrics have deteriorated immediately."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 520 points, or 4.6 percent yesterday, to the lowest level since September 2010. Standard & Poor's assigned AA+ ratings, the second-highest investment-grade rating, to about 11,500 municipal securities this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The affected bonds generally are tied to the federal government, which lost its AAA long-term credit rating from S&P on Aug. 5.
"Getting in and out of the municipal market causes its own friction, and I'm not going to do it willy nilly because everyone is running around with their heads cut off," said New York-based Thomas Dalpiaz, who oversees $280 million as senior vice president of Advisors Asset Management Inc. "It's my job to keep my head when everybody is losing theirs."
Wait and See
Individual investors generally don't sell bonds as quickly as they may sell stocks in reaction to bad news, said John Hallacy, head of municipal research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York.
"They might wait a couple of days to see how things shake out before they decide what they are going to do, and they also need time to talk to their financial advisers," he said.
Investors pulled about $14.5 million out of municipal-bond mutual funds on Tuesday, the seventh straight day of flows from the funds, according to data from TrimTabs Investment Research. There was about $861 million in total withdrawals from U.S. municipal-bond mutual funds in the week ended Aug. 3, before the downgrade, and that was the greatest weekly outflow since April, according to Lipper US Fund Flows.
Fund Withdrawals
Mutual-fund investors took money out of the funds for six straight months beginning in November 2010, according to data from Chicago-based Morningstar Inc., including $13 billion in outflows in December, the month when analyst Meredith Whitney forecast that there could be 50 to 100 "sizable" municipal- bond defaults. From May through July investors were adding money to the funds, Morningstar said.
"There's no parallel," in current fund flows to the outflows municipal-bond funds experienced in late 2010, said Spalding.
Municipal bonds fell 0.04 percent this week through yesterday, as measured by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Municipal Master Index. Prerefunded municipal bonds, or those backed by Treasury bonds held in escrow, gained 0.07 percent, as measured by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Municipal Prerefunded Index.
Some investors may be holding on to municipal-bond investments because there are few other safe havens available, said Robert Kane, founder and chief executive officer for BondView, which provides bond-market data for advisers and individual investors.
"There's a kind of tug-of-war going on here with people wanting muni bonds and thinking longer term, and people thinking 'Gee, I want to get out,'" he said. "But if you do get out, where do you go?"
Signs of Selling
There were some signs of selling following the U.S. downgrade. Shares of the iShares S&P National AMT-Free Bond Fund, an exchange-traded fund, closed Monday at a 1.77 percent discount to its net asset value, or the underlying value of its holdings, the largest discount for the fund since December 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
That discount may be because shares of the exchange-traded fund are more liquid than bonds sold over-the-counter, so market movements may show up in its shares before they are reflected in prices of the underlying bonds, said Matt Tucker, head of fixed- income investment strategy for BlackRock Inc.'s IShares unit. On Wednesday the shares closed at a 0.77 percent discount to net asset value.
No New Issuance
Closed-end municipal-bond funds traded Monday at an average discount of 8.39 percent to their net asset values, the largest discount since April 2009, said Cecilia Gondor, executive vice president at Miami-based Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. The discount narrowed to 5.48 percent at the close of trading Wednesday.
Declining new issuance has limited the supply in the municipal-bond market, and many investors value the tax-exempt income provided by the bonds, said Josh Gonze, a co-portfolio manager who oversees $6.5 billion in municipal-bond assets at Thornburg Investment Management Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The funds he manages have not seen any significant inflows or outflows this week, Gonze said.
There was $141 billion in municipal-bond issuance in 2011 through July, compared with $216 billion in the first seven months of 2010, said Thomas Doe, chief executive officer and founder of Concord, Massachusetts-based Municipal Market Advisors.
Best Defense
Bonds issued by providers of essential services such as utilities should be less vulnerable to the effects of any future cuts in government spending, said Howard Cure, director of municipal-bond credit research for Evercore Wealth Management LLC in New York, which oversees about $2.9 billion.
Evercore recently purchased bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority that mature in 2019 at a yield of 4.04 percent. Interest from Puerto Rico municipal bonds is generally exempt from state and local income taxes for residents of any state.
"We think that diversification is our best defense," said Elizabeth Fell, head of U.S. fixed-income strategy at Barclays Wealth, which manages about $272 billion. Fell, who's based in New York, is advising clients to hold general-obligation and certain revenue bonds.
There may be better opportunities among high-yield municipal bonds, which individual investors may not be able to analyze, said Jason Thomas, chief investment officer at Aspiriant, which manages about $7.5 billion.
No Flashing Sign
"The municipal-bond market is driven by the retail investor, who is drawn to the apparent safety of general- obligation municipal bonds," said Los Angeles-based Thomas.
About 37 percent of municipal bonds are held directly by households and 32 percent is held by mutual funds, according to U.S. Federal Reserve data.
Bond investors who purchased individual bonds with a long- term time horizon generally should not sell, Kane said. They should selectively trim holdings with very low interest rates or long time horizons, and bonds likely to be downgraded.
"The fundamentals aren't flashing a red warning sign," he said.
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- Brandy is hard at work on her sixth album
- She recently wrapped the video for her first single, a duet with Monica
- Singer-songwriter Frank Ocean is also contributing to her new project
(Rolling Stone) -- It's been four years since Brandy released her last album "Human" and many things have changed, including her.
"I'm reinventing myself and I feel fearless," Brandy told Rolling Stone. "I haven't done R&B in a very long time. This album is rooted in R&B. The sound is different, it's about love. It's mature, it's gritty, it's edgy."
The former teen star and mother of one is hard at work on her sixth album and recently wrapped the video for her first single, a duet with Monica called "It All Belongs To Me." This is first time the two have recorded together since their 1998 Grammy Award winning hit, "The Boy Is Mine."
"Monica and I have a bond as women and as mothers, working with her doesn't feel like work," Brandy says. "Chris Robinson directed the video and we're both in dysfunctional relationships. We're helping each other through both situations, it's sort of like a 'Thelma & Louise,' girl empowerment video."
Recruiting producers like Rico Love, who wrote and produced "It All Belongs To Me," Jim Jonsin, Danja, Timbaland, Chris Brown and longtime collaborator Rodney Jerkins, Brandy's also seeing what two Canadians have to offer.
"I heard the song that Drake did and I loved it," Brandy says of working with the Cash Money MC and his primary producer Noah "40" Shebib. "I haven't recorded it yet but I'm looking forward to it because it's such a great melody and the beat is nice. It's a vibe that I haven't dipped into and I think the fans would get a kick out of hearing my voice over a record like that. I'm not sure if Drake's going to be on it but I'm a huge fan of his. His melodies are beautiful, I like the way I sound in the shower singing his songs."
Singer-songwriter Frank Ocean is also contributing to her new project, and according to Brandy, their relationship is more than just professional.
"He's like a little brother to me," Brandy says. "He wrote a song called 'Scared of Beautiful' about women who are afraid to be beautiful in their full potential as women. I've been there before so I know a lot of women can relate."
Despite moving from her initial record label home Atlantic to Epic and now RCA, Brandy says she finally feels supported.
"RCA reminds me of how Atlantic used to be, they really believed in my vision as an artist when they signed me at 14," she shares. "RCA welcomed me and Breyon Prescott and Peter Edge showed such passion for what I wanted to do."
See the full article at Rolling Stone.
Copyright © 2011 Rolling Stone.

subset: commoncrawl


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STEM Education | Interview
If humanoid robots are ever to succeed as classroom assistants, they have to be stable, agile, and programmable--but above all, said Bruno Maisonnier, they have to be cute.
"In my opinion, the robot of the future will have as its main function to interact with people," Maisonnier said. "If you want people to be comfortable interacting with a robot, it has to have a humanoid shape, not a dog or a spider or anything like that. Really, they have to look cute before everything else."
Maisonnier is the CEO and founder of Aldebaran Robotics, a French company developing and marketing humanoid robots. He was in San Francisco recently for the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), a week-long conference jointly sponsored by the IEEE and the Robotic Society of Japan. Aldebaran's flagship product is a 60 cm-tall robot called NAO (pronounced "now"), which Maisonnier and his colleagues demonstrated at the conference.
"I hate this name, 'humanoid robot,'" he said. "'Humanoid' is not a good one, but 'robot' is worse. When people hear it, they think of industry. But that is not at all what we are doing. In industry robotics, you have machines that do repetitive tasks very fast, and you are prohibited to interact with the robot. For us, the interaction is the most important. It's a totally different world."
NAO was among the better known robots at the conference. The device grabbed headlines when it replaced Sony's famous robot dog, Aibo, in the Robot Soccer World Cup, better known as the RoboCup, in 2007. NAO is also the first programmable humanoid robot to be used as a standard research platform and an educational tool for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students.
Experiments with robot teaching assistants are underway in a few classrooms, the best known of which is probably South Korea's test of a locally produced robotic device in primary school English classes. But the greatest impact of technologies like NAO on K-12 education in the near term is likely to come from its role as a platform for STEM education. The NAO comes with a visual programming tool designed to allow students to code behaviors for the robot, including gestures, movements, sounds, music, and speech.
But Maisonnier argued that, although a robot like NAO can be used to teach students the fundamentals of robotics, it can also serve as a means of allowing students to connect theory with practice in subjects such as computer science, engineering, and mathematics.
Aldebaran developed NAO first as a piece of hardware with a core software infrastructure and then threw it open to third-party developers to add to and refine the software. The NAO hardware platform combines a range of input devices and sensors, including cameras, microphones, ultrasonic rangers, inertial measurement units, pressure sensors on its feet, as well as actuators in its joints. And it can reproduce sound and synthesize speech. The little robot can speak and understand verbal communications, see and recognize, and avoid obstacles and pick itself up when it falls. It also connects to the Internet via WiFi.
Maisonnier said he's convinced that the role of humanoid robots in K-12 is going to change within the next decade from objects of study to true classroom assistants. And, he said, he expects them to find acceptance in that role first in narrow applications. Autistic students, for example, are likely to be among the first beneficiaries of robotic tutors, he explained.
"These children have no filters to the input all around them, and that is very painful, so they have to shut themselves off," he said. "The robot can be programmed to have little impact, to have the same, level voice and no complicated facial expressions. And robots are very good at rituals--always the same thing in the same order at the same time every morning, which gives comfort to this child. And because the robot is an object with which both the teacher and the student can interact, it can become a link between you."
Some research into this area is reportedly underway now in Abu Dhabi-based Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. The institute recently purchased five NAOs for this purpose.
He also pointed to the South Korean experiment. "They discovered something fascinating in South Korea," he said. "Because the robot is not reacting to the students, they feel less self-conscious about their bad pronunciations. They can repeat and repeat hundreds of times, and the robot will remain flat and without emotion, totally neutral."
Maisonnier was also quick to emphasize that he never expects robots to replace teachers.
"This is a tool in the hands of the educator," he said. "It's a very sophisticated tool, yes, but a tool only, one that will help them to do their job better."
About the Author
John K. Waters is a freelance journalist and author based in Mountain View, CA.
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Legacy analog phone lines, also known as Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), are becoming more expensive to maintain, leading many schools to seek alternatives. These POTS lines are used in life safety systems such as fire alarms, building entry systems and fax machines. However, carriers are phasing out these lines, charging more and providing less support. Read more...
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Latest offers » Offers and competitions from children's publishers
More info » Find out more about Chatterbooks reading clubs for children
Buy Chatterbooks materials » Schools' starter packs – welcome packs for children and group leaders' toolkits
03 July 2017
Animal Agents Chatterbooks Activity Pack
Here is a Chatterbooks activity pack to accompany this year's Summer Reading Challenge, Animal Agents. It features some of the fabulous books in this year's Summer Reading Challenge collection.
07 June 2016
The BFG Phizz-Whizzing Lesson Plans
Read Roald Dahl's The BFG with your class before Steven Spielberg's film comes out in July – with the help of the new Officially Phizz-Whizzing Lesson Plans. Whether you've read it before or are discovering the Big Friendly Giant's story...


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A Chinese company has won a politically charged auction for nearly all of A123 Systems Inc., the Waltham batter maker that filed for bankruptcy protection after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars of government support, said an adviser who was at the auction.
Wanxiang Group, an auto parts conglomerate, outbid Johnson Controls Inc., of Milwaukee, and Japan's NEC Corp., which had teamed up to bid for A123's assets, according to the adviser, who was not authorized to speak publicly because the deal has not been finalized.
Among the assets Wanxiang will buy are two plants in Michigan that were largely financed by US taxpayers. Wanxiang will not get A123's assets related to defense contracts. Those will go to another bidder, Navitas Systems LLC, an Illinois battery company, according to the adviser.
Together, the two deals are valued at upward of $250 million, the adviser said. A sales hearing before a bankruptcy judge in Delaware is scheduled for Tuesday.
Representatives for Wanxiang and A123 could not immediately be reached. In a letter sent to A123 chief executive David Vieau on Nov. 15, Pin Ni, head of Wanxiang's North American operations, said the Chinese company wanted to help A123 grow in the United States.
"We are committed to the future success of A123," Ni wrote. "With the financial backing of Wanxiang America, the extensive US business operations of A123 will continue unabated."
Wanxiang, China's largest auto parts manufacturer, has courted A123 for months. In August, Wanxiang agreed to invest up to $465 million in A123 in exchange for a controlling stake in the struggling battery maker's operations.
That deal, however, raised criticisms in Congress about China's acquiring sensitive technology developed with the support of the US government.
With the completion of the Wanxiang deal uncertain and cash running short, A123 filed for protection under federal bankruptcy law in mid-October and agreed to sell its automotive business assets to Johnson Controls in a $125 million transaction.
A123's bankruptcy has been heavily scrutinized because the Waltham firm received millions of US government dollars, including nearly $250 million in stimulus funds that were used to build up A123's automotive-manufacturing capabilities in Michigan.
Founded in 2001, A123 built its name around a promising lithium ion technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that produced high-powered, long-lasting batteries that could be used in many new ways, including in electric cars. The company landed power-tool giant Black & Decker as its first customer, and later produced batteries for cars and power storage for the electric grid.
The company went public in 2009, raising $380 million in its initial stock offering. At its height, A123 employed several thousand people in Massachusetts, Michigan, China, and Germany.
A123 was viewed by the administrations of President Obama and Governor Deval Patrick and many industry analysts as a key component of a clean energy-driven economy.
But high production costs, slow adoption of electric vehicles, and a recall that cost tens of millions of dollars ultimately brought down the company.
Erin Ailworth can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @ailworth.


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Introduction and orientation to college life for EOP students. Review of campus and community resources available to support students participating in the EOP. Instruction in various academic survival skills necessary for college success. Letter grade only (A-F).
Assists with decisions regarding academic, professional and personal lives. Familiarizes students with University academic policies, MyCSULB, Beach board, library research tools and databases, exploration of academic programs and career options, refines study skills and provides network opportunities.
Credit/No Credit grading only.


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The European Union 'strongly opposes' the Israel's decision to build 2,610 settlements which jeopardizes possibility of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state and of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states
The European Union said it "strongly opposed" the latest "extremely troubling" Israeli plans for more settler homes around Jerusalem which would only further undermine the peace process.
EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton said plans to build 2,610 houses in the Givat Hamatos settlement, along with the 1,500 in Ramat Shlomo announced in November would effectively cut Bethlehem off from Jerusalem.
"I strongly oppose this unprecedented expansion of settlements around Jerusalem," Ashton said in a statement early Thursday.
"The EU particularly opposes the implementation of plans which seriously undermine the prospects of a negotiated resolution of the conflict by jeopardising the possibility of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state and of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states.
"In the light of its core objective of achieving the two-state solution, the EU will closely monitor the situation and its broader implications, and act accordingly," she said.
Ashton called again for both sides to show the leadership required to get the peace process back on track.
Earlier, the United Nations and UN Security Council condemned Israel's moves.
The United States, Israel's close ally, did not join the public attack on Israel but slammed the "provocative" act during closed UN Security Council consultations.
Israel has approved thousands of new homes in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem since the UN General Assembly voted on November 29 to recognise Palestine as a non-member state.
Israel has approved plans for the construction of 523 homes in the southern West Bank in the first step towards creating a new settlement city, the local settler council said on Thursday.
"After years, we are happy to announce that the government of Israel has decided to build a city in Gush Etzion," David Perel, head of the Gush Eztion regional council, told AFP, saying the defence ministry had approved plans for 523 homes in Gevaot settlement.


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From Chips To Craze Lines: All About Cracked Teeth
You may be wondering, "What does a cracked tooth have to do with endodontics?" Great question! In fact, it has everything to do with endodontics! You see, without fractured, chipped and broken teeth, there would be almost no need for root canal therapy ever!
Here are some of the most common types of tooth fractures, and what can be done about them:
Cracked Tooth: When we think of a cracked tooth, we are talking about a crack on the crown that extends down toward the root. If the crack has not reached the pulp yet, your dentist may be able to save the tooth with a crown. If it has reached the pulp, we may treat you with a root canal first to remove the pulp and place a crown for protection.
Chipped Tooth: As long as the pulp hasn't been affected, your dentist can place a crown to fix your chipped tooth.
Craze Lines: These tiny cracks are common in adults and only exist in the outer enamel. They are not a problem and require no treatment.
Fractured Cusp: Many times, an old filling will give way and a piece of the tooth's chewing surface will break off. If the pulp is exposed, we will perform a root canal prior to the crown to remove the pulp and save the tooth.
Split Tooth: Split all the way down to the roots, a tooth in this state cannot be saved 100%. However, sometimes a root canal treatment and crown can help to save part of the tooth. Often a split tooth started off as simply a cracked tooth, which is why it's so important to get care early on if you have any tooth injury!
Vertical Root Fracture: In this scenario, the fracture starts at the bottom of the root of the tooth and extends upward toward the crown. Often they go unnoticed until the bone and gum become infected. Sometimes extraction is necessary. However, we will check first to see if we can save the tooth by removing the fractured portion with endodontic surgery.
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Disruptions Possible as ARRL Reconfigures Internet Services
Beginning Friday, July 6 at approximately 1 PM (EDT), the ARRL's Information Technology Department will be changing the configuration of the League's Internet services. This will involve Domain Name System (DNS) address changes for a variety of servers at ARRL Headquarters. According to ARRL Information Technology Manager Michael Keane, K1MK, there may be some short, intermittent interruptions of service. "This depends primarily on how quickly the changes to the DNS address records are populated throughout the Internet," he explained. "There could be short delays in posting and receiving messages to/from the ARRL reflectors. If there is an interruption, all messages will be stored in a queue until service is restored. There may be other short disruptions involving servers for Logbook of The World (LoTW) and the ARRL Periodicals Archive, but they should be short, if they exist at all."


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Dassault Systèmes provides business and people with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations capable of harmonizing product, nature and life.
In life, there are no rehearsals. Thanks to our 3DEXPERIENCE virtual universes, we can model, simulate and evaluate impacts before creating any experience in the real world.
Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, Dassault Systèmes is there with you.
We are at the forefront of innovation for any size of enterprise, from global industry leaders to startups... and even individuals!
We provide virtual worlds to extend and improve the real world.
It is not only about what we sell, but who we are. We are striving to reach our 2025 targets, and are proud to be in a strong position as a catalyst for helping our customers and partners who are on the same path on their sustainable transformation in their business.
Our culture is driven by a commitment to innovation and to having a positive impact on society. Everything we do is geared to improving the future.
We are 22,500 people worldwide representing 140 nationalities.
A management team driven by a long-term vision.
We are driven by the same passion and commitment
Do you have dreams? Do you enjoy a challenge? Do you want to unleash your imagination and creativity? Join us to open new possibilities together with the power of virtual universes!
No matter where your business operates in the world, Dassault Systèmes is there to support you in your innovative projects. Find one of our office locations.
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Ceiling lifts are mounted directly into your home's ceiling beams. The railing can be installed for transportation in a set pathway from room to room. The lifting unit glides effortlessly along the railings to transport patients via interchangeable slings, enabling safe and simple transfers.
Ceiling Installed Patient Lifts Features
Benefits to Patients
Patients and their caregivers love our patient lifts! Using a ceiling-mounted patient lift enables patients to enjoy transfers with safety, comfort, and dignity.
Interchangeable slings enable patients to perform a variety of functions with limited assistance from caregivers, providing a greater sense of independence. From bathing to seated transfers, physical therapy and beyond, there's a sling available to suit your needs.
Safe Patient Handling Programs
As industry experts, 101 Mobility [Wilmington] has guided hundreds of care facilities and home caregivers in implementing Safe Patient Handling (SPH) programs. We offer, install, and service a wide variety of top-quality ceiling lifts for patients from the industry's leading manufacturers to enhance your patient handling program.
The 101 Mobility Difference
101 Mobility [Wilmington] offers a complete ceiling lift program, customized to suit your specific needs. Our full-service solutions include free on-site consultations, installation, and long-term service and maintenance backed by our signature one-year limited service warranty in addition to the manufacturer's product warranty. Not only do our expert Mobility Specialists install our ceiling lifts, but we take the time to train caregivers and patients, making sure that they completely understand and are comfortable using the equipment before we leave.
After installation, we are always available for questions regarding your equipment. Our goal is to ensure the best possible working environment for caregivers, partnered with safe, comfortable and dignified transfers for patients.


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Syrian Opposition Unification Puts West To The Test As Rebels Lay Grounds For No-Fly Zone – Analysis
By INEGMA
By Riad Kahwaji
The Syrian opposition parties have finally succeeded in unifying themselves in the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF) that was born Nov. 11, after nearly a week of meetings in the Qatari capital of Doha. The new body includes revolutionary and opposition figures and parties from inside and outside Syria and from Islamist and liberal groups, Christians and Muslims. The international community was quick to voice praise and support for the move, and many states promised to recognize NCSROF as the official legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Arab Gulf States and the League of Arab States have already recognized the new body as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. However, the Syrian opposition leaders went into this coalition expecting the international community, especially the West, to double and speed up aid to the Syrian revolution in all its forms: Political, economic, humanitarian and especially military.
While the world watched in cold blood the daily bombardment of Syrian cities and towns by the regime's air power and artillery, the Syrian rebels were making daily progress on the ground with whatever little help they were getting from businessmen and groups in the region. The progress made in the north and central parts of the country were so big that the rebels have practically paved the way for the establishment of a no-fly zone in northern Syria along the borders with Turkey. Armed with machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades and some heavy weapons they captured from the Syrian regular forces – like mortars, multiple rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns and some tanks – the rebels captured most of the countryside of the provinces of Aleppo and Edlib and good chunks of Latakia and Raqqah provinces.
The most important part in all of the field developments was the rebels' success in neutralizing the regime's air defense capabilities in most of northern Syria and around Damascus. The rebels have stormed several air defense bases and destroyed the fire control systems and radars for the surface-to-air missiles there and captured anti-aircraft guns. Images released by the rebels showed them walking around Soviet-era SAM-2, SAM-3, SAM-5, SAM-7 and SAM-9 missiles on launch pads, with their mobile fire-control units and radars on fire or destroyed. The rebels vacated the bases in time before Syrian aircraft bombarded the site to deny the rebels the use of the missiles. Fortunately for the regime the rebels did not have the skills or the know-how to operate the missiles, otherwise they would have been able to establish their own no-fly zones over some areas or provinces. Although rebels were seen carrying some SAM-7 shoulder fired missiles, however for unknown reasons there has not yet been a documented use of these missiles. All of the downed Syrian jets and helicopters so far appear to have been hit by anti-aircraft gunfire. However, Syrian jets have been releasing heat flares during their air raids as a countermeasure to the use of heat-seeking SAM-7s.
The growing size of armed rebels showed they have no lack of manpower. This enabled them to engage the regular troops on various fronts all over the country. The battle of attrition have destroyed a lot of the regimes armor and vehicles, and demoralized many of its forces that did not stand their ground on many occasions when they came under shock attacks by the rebels. The regime seems to have employed strategic bombing from medium altitudes and controlling territory via fire power. It has been fiercely bombarding cities and towns in a clear attempt to turn the civilian population against the rebels. But it does not seem to have worked as the rebels continue to enjoy a lot of public support and the ability to move freely in most parts of the country. The rebels' possession of anti-aircraft capability has forced the regime's air power to drop dumb bombs from medium altitudes due to lack of smart weapons in its arsenal. Since the Syrian air force cannot carry out precision strikes it has lost its tactical edge allowing the rebels to advance slowly on the ground especially in mountainous and forest terrains that cover large parts of the Syrian landscape, giving the rebels a good advantage on the ground.
However the death toll amongst the population has been substantial and has exceeded 37,000 killed and tens of thousands injured or displaced. With a daily casualty rate of nearly 100 people the monthly death toll will be nearly 3,000 people. With such high casualty rates and considerable destruction of property, the Syrian population risks becoming radicalized, a threat the international community has to seriously consider in determining whether to intervene soon. The regime has used all it has in its arsenal except chemical weapons and ballistic missiles in hitting densely populated neighborhoods, even in its own capital Damascus in its efforts to crush the 19-month old rebellion. It even used endogenously built primitive bombs in helicopter-borne raids. Footage leaked by Syrian troops showed soldiers on board a helicopter use their cigarettes to light fuses of big canisters rigged with explosives that resemble giant sticks of dynamite, and then dropped them randomly from high altitude on towns and villages. The Syrian people have come to call these bombs the "explosive barrels." International organizations have even accused the Syrian regime of using cluster bombs in air raids on civilian areas.
So the international community is now facing its ultimate test vis-à-vis the Syrian people. For many months the Western capitals have placed the issue of the unification of the rebels as a precondition for their full support to the Syrian revolution. Now that this objective has been achieved the Syrians, along with the Arab world, anxiously await the West to fulfill its promise, especially that the situation in Syria has become too risky to regional and international stability if it was left on its own without intervention to bring about a quick end to the fighting that has spilled across the borders of Syria's neighbors, including Israel. Events have proven the Syrian regime's military is not the formidable force some Western military commanders have described. The loss of popular support and daily assaults on all fronts by determined rebels have taken its toll on the Syrian regular forces plagued with frequent defections within its ranks on all levels. The West can do the whole military support without any troops on the ground through establishing a no-fly zone and supplying rebels with the right weapons. Deprived of any air power the Syrian regime will lose its main killing machine and the collapse of its forces will be sped up substantially. So Washington and the West must step in quickly with their Arab allies to bring about the inevitable end of the Syrian regime before things get any worse or get out of control in such a strategically vital country.
Riad Kahwaji, CEO, INEGMA


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The weekend is here and it is time for a short prototyping challenge! Over and over again, I've heard the sad tale that there are talented programmers lacking sexy graphics. I, on the other hand, can't program a lick. So here's a thought: I'll provide some quality graphics and a seed of a design idea. All you need to provide is a working prototype of the core game mechanic. :-)
For each prototype I receive, I'll post it up on the website and the learned folks who lurk here can discuss its pros, cons and opportunities for improvement. It should be a good learning experience all around. As we go, I'll add more graphics and we'll see where it all leads. Continue reading to grab the graphics and read the seed idea.
Core mechanic
The core mechanic of SpaceCute is a single player casual turn based strategy game. It borrows the control mechanism from the familiar mini golf games that have been around since the early 90's. The goal is to add a low burnout skill-based mechanic to the shortest interaction cycle in the game. Is the act of just moving units fun?
- To move a ship, you drag a line out from the ship.
- The ship is launch in the direction of line.
- The ship's velocity is dependent on the length of the line. The line has a max length.
Objects in the game are modeled as circles. They can bounce into one another like simple billiard balls. The goal is to add a bit of juiciness and nuance to the often mechanical act of attacking another unit. Does the act of attacking a unit feel satisfying?
- The ship does damage to opponents when it smacks into them during the player's turn. The feedback to the player when two ships collide is a great area to invest some time in getting the 'feel' correct. If we make this interaction visceral through sound, explosions and flying bits, we can enthrall players from their earliest interactions.
- Friction is relatively high compared to a billiards game so most pieces only travel a short distance when flung. This is still a strategy game and we don't want chaos to reign after a single turn.
- Are there any interesting combination collisions that occur that we could accentuate with future layers of mechanics? I'd love to build a combo-hit system into the combat.
During each turn, the player can move one ship. The results of the various collisions are displayed. The turn ends immediately and the computer moves. This is very similar to the turn structure of chess or checkers. The goal is to create a fast paced game that eliminates the need for the typical 'end turn' button found in many turn-based strategy games.
The board is a single screen with 5 or 6 units from each team.
- What distances between players result in immediately interesting combat?
- Are there any initial configurations that cause the players to think deeply about their moves?
As the game grows, we'll be adding lots of interesting ships with special abilities. For now, we just need some basic ones to experiment on.
- Basic attack ship: This is the basic ship used by both the player and the enemy. Balancing max velocity, friction, hull radius, damage and health for this unit are all interesting areas for rapid iteration and play testing.
- Planet: Heavy obstacle that is used to define space on the map.
A randomly selected enemy units moves towards the closest player at full speed. This is a simple stub algorithm that will be replaced if more interesting behavior is required.
- AI should execute rapidly (less than .5 second) This is a casual game and waiting for the AI doesn't add much to the experience.
Let's add a simple stub winning condition that the player wins when all the enemies are destroyed. Pop up a little text screen to let the player know they've completed the game and give them the option to play again.
Prototyping basics
Unit stats and level design is handled with a single text file (perhaps XML). Changing various variable in the world physics, unit stats or initial token positions should be a simple matter of editing the text file and running the game again.
Important questions to consider
Here are some common questions that any one should ask of their initial prototype.
- Is any portion of the play fun? There is roughly a 95% chance that your first stabs at this design won't be all that enjoyable. Finding the fun and magnifying it over several iteration of experimentation is critical.
- What is the pacing of the game? Is the player receiving interesting feedback at steady intervals? Do they have interesting choices at the beginning, middle and end of the game?
- What actions could use better feedback? Often an interaction fails not because it isn't interesting, but because we fail to properly help the player build mental models of what is happening.
- How do other players react to the game? We, of course, can post the prototype here and get comments, but it is worth while watching someone in person play the game. Grab your roomie or sister. What does she think? Where does she stumble?
You'll notice that there are almost as many questions as there are specs to this challenge. Such is the way of prototyping. In these initial stages of development, expect rapid iteration and rapid learning.
There are naturally dozens of ideas stored away for various ships types and more complex interactions between objects. Ice zones with low friction, units that explode Every Extend-style when they reach their destination, factories, resources, powerups...SpaceCute, the massively single player SRPG! Woot. Any designer worth his salt can generate webs upon webs of dreamy meta-game mechanics. However, unless the core mechanic is solid and enjoyable, these really aren't worth wasting time on at the moment. More importantly, they will evolve substantially once we start figuring out the fun in the core mechanics.
So who is up for some quick prototyping fun?
take care
Graphics: Here are the source graphics for the prototype. Use and abuse as desired. Again, if you come up with something interesting, drop me a note at danc [at] lostgarden [dot] com. For this challenge I'm happy to post both wacky failures and successes. It is the learning that matters.
- SpaceCute-Prototype.zip: This file contains both .PNG and the original vector .Design files. Download it here (777k).
- Expression Design: If you want to edit and tweak the .Design files directly, you can download a 180 day trial of Expression Design here: http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/en/expression-design/free-trial.mspx
If you are interested in simple 2D collision and don't have such code lying about already, here are some articles:
- C++ code for standard collision of two balls: http://www.plasmaphysics.org.uk/programs/coll2d_cpp.htm
- Discussion of the collision of walls and balls:
- Stub: A simple system that will typically become replaced by a more complex system in future versions. Most prototypes have a few stubs since your goal is not to build a complete game, but to test a theory.


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- Home
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Open Records Request
For complaints regarding failure to release public information please contact your local District or County Attorney.
If you need special accommodations pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please contact our City Secretary, Doris Crockett, at 903-894-7223 ext. 109
If you would like to submit a request to the Bullard Police Department, please click here.
Procedures to obtain information
- Submit a written request (mail, fax, email, or in person) according to a governmental body's reasonable procedures.
- Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the governmental body to accurately identify and locate the items requested.
- Cooperate with the governmental body's reasonable efforts to clarify the type or amount of information.
Contact Information
You may make your request by:
- Mail: P.O. Box 107, Bullard, TX 75757
- In person at City Hall: 114 S. Phillips. Bullard, TX 75757
- Fax: (903) 956-0480
Cost of Records
- You must respond to any written estimate of charges within 10 days of the date the governmental body sent it or the request may be deemed withdrawn.
Information that may be withheld due to an exception
By the 10th business day after you file your request, a governmental body must:
- Request an Attorney General Opinion and state which exceptions apply;
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Failure to request an AG opinion and notify the requester within 10 business days will result in a presumption that the information is open unless there is a compelling reason to withhold it. Requester's may send a letter to the AG arguing for release, and may review arguments made by the governmental body.


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Book Blitz Sign Up: Daring the Bad Boy by Monica Murphy!
by Monica Murphy
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 22nd 2016
Entangled Teen Crush
Summary from Goodreads:
Truth or Dare was never this much fun...
Annie McFarland is sick of being a shy nobody. A session at summer camp seems like the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself—gain some confidence, kiss a boy, be whoever she wants to be. A few days in, she's already set her sights on über-hottie Kyle. Too bad her fear of water keeps her away from the lake, where Kyle is always hanging out.
Jacob Fazio is at Camp Pine Ridge after one too many screw-ups. Junior counseling seems like punishment enough, but the rigid no-fraternizing-with-campers rules harsh his chill. When a night of Truth or Dare gets him roped into teaching Annie how to swim, she begs him to also teach her how to snag Kyle.
Late-night swim sessions turn into late-night kissing sessions...but there's more on the line than just their hearts. If they get caught, Jake's headed straight to juvie, but Annie's more than ready to dare him to reveal the truth.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains references to drinking, sexual situations, adult language, and an intense bad boy hero who will melt your heart.
Links: Amazon
| Barnes
and Noble
Great. The rudest boy at camp just so happened to save my life. I hoped he wasn't one of those types who expected me to be indebted to him for the rest of the summer or whatever.
I looked away and coughed, water filling my mouth so I had no choice but to avert my head and spit it out. My cheeks felt hot, and I couldn't believe I was embarrassed, but old habits died hard, I guess.
He said nothing, just grabbed my hand and walked/ dragged me the rest of the way out of the water, until we were standing on the sandy beach. I heard feet thumping on the dock and I glanced up, watched in disbelief as the majority of my so-called friends and the boys from B7B ran off the dock. Not a one of them had stayed behind to see if I was okay.
Not a single one of them.
Were they scared they'd get in trouble? Would Jacob rat me out? He was the director's nephew, after all. I needed to say something to him. I didn't want to get in trouble. I didn't want to be sent home, and I'm pretty sure he had the power to make both things happen.
Before I could say anything, though, Jacob grabbed my shoulders and gave them a little shake so I'd look up at him. His eyes were dark, his mouth set in a grim line, and he bent his knees a little so our gazes were even. "You really all right?" he asked, his tone firm.
I'd quit coughing, but my voice still came out slightly wheezy. "I'm fine." My bones felt like jelly and I thought I might pass out from lack of oxygen, but yeah. I was great.
He squeezed my bare shoulders with his big hands, his fingers sliding over my thin bikini straps, and I realized I'd never stood this close to a boy before with so little clothing on. A shiver moved through me, and I tried to take a step back for much-needed distance, but he wouldn't let me go.
"That was really stupid, jumping off the dock like that," he said, his deep voice now full of irritation.
"Trust me, I wasn't trying to impress you." I couldn't believe I'd said that. But I was offended that he basically just called me stupid.
"No kidding." He released his hold on my shoulders and walked a few steps away, snatching up something off the beach. "And I definitely wasn't impressed."
I made an incredulous sound, one I usually saved for the privacy of my bedroom when no one else was around, and he sent me a look. I was reluctant to admit it was sort of a cute look, his dark eyebrows raised, as if he dared me to contradict him.
So I did.
"Are you going to write me up?" When he still said nothing, I continued. "You said you would earlier." I glanced around, noticed that the dock was completely empty. Where was Kelsey, anyway? Did she leave me, too? "You want me to?" "N-no. O-of c-course n-not." My teeth had started to chatter. I didn't know if it was from the cold or the shock, or a combination of both, but I couldn't make them stop.
"Did you bring a towel with you at least?" Jacob asked. When I shook my head, he muttered something that sounded distinctly like a curse word starting with the letter F. The sympathetic look he shot my way was surprising as he came back toward me, his hand thrust outward, a ball of fabric clutched in it. "Take this."
I didn't want him feeling sorry for me. And that didn't look like a towel. "Wh-what i-is it?" I wrapped my arms around my middle, my fingers brushing against my goosebump-covered torso. I couldn't stop shaking. It was like I had no control over my body.
He sighed and glanced to his left, then his right, like he wanted to make sure there was no one around before he stepped forward and stretched the dark fabric between his hands. "Don't move," he ordered, his tone bossy as he yanked the fabric over my head.
I jerked against his first touch, but otherwise I remained still. It was a giant hoodie that he slipped over my head. Warm and soft and a little sandy from when he'd abandoned it on the beach. The fabric clung to my damp skin and the hem fell to my thighs, covering me from my neck to almost my knees. I shoved my arms in the sleeves but they were so long, they swallowed my hands completely, even when I stretched my fingers out.
He stepped closer and reached behind my head, pulling the hood up so that it covered my soaked hair. Then he grabbed hold of the strings at the sweatshirt's neck and tugged on them, so the hood cinched around my face tightly, his gaze never leaving mine. "Better?"
I nodded and took a deep breath, the shivering starting to subside, thank goodness. "Much."
Jacob reached out and wiped one cheek, then the other, his thumb rough yet warm against my chilled skin. "You're still wet."
"I should p-probably take a shower." I clamped my freezing lips shut. Why did I just say that? Showers meant naked, and I didn't want to talk about getting naked with Jacob.
About the Author
Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is a traditionally published author with Bantam/Random House and Harper Collins/Avon, as well as an independently published author. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance. She is also USA Today bestselling romance author Karen Erickson.
She is a wife and a mother of three who lives with her family in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere, along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she's not writing, she's reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She's a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through many angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.


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Custom 1998 Isuzu Hombre - Fun Bags
Doin' It For Yourself And For The Ladies Are Two Good Reasons To Build A Truck
Senility hits hard when it hits the young. It hits especially hard when you go through all the trouble of finding the owner of a great custom truck, arrange a photo shoot for the truck, make the deal happen, and then misplace the photos for a couple of years. Man, does that hurt. This is one feature truck that has been a long time coming. Sport Truck photographed it back in 2002 but just now found the film and got around to putting it into print. Better late than never, right? We hesitated to even print the photos, since we were so tardy, but changed our minds because the truck is an Isuzu, which is the much cooler and younger brother to the Chevy S-10-and something you don't see every day. Custom Hombres are hard to come by, so why waste a good thing? We tried to contact the truck's owner, Jeff Callahan, but since our information is almost as old as that Vanilla Ice CD we found in the used music bin of our local record store, the digits just didn't work. Oh well, someone will tell him his Hombre is here, even if he doesn't own it anymore. Here are the particulars.
Jeff built this truck for a couple of valid reasons. First off, he knew he could accomplish much of the custom work and fabrication himself, and who wouldn't love the sense of pride that comes with such a monumental accomplishment as putting together a truly custom truck? Second, Jeff is a member of a world-famous custom truck club called Negative Camber, which means that he's been into the custom truck scene long enough to know that driving and dragging a rad ride usually attracts prime examples of the fairer sex. Armed with those two motivating factors, Jeff set out to restyle his Hombre. Much of the work required to make this truck both attractive and functional hinged upon creating just the right stance, whether the truck is parked or throwin' sparks. Jeff accomplished both by tossing the factory front coil springs in the trash and replacing them with Firestone airbags and relocated shocks. The rear suspension was stripped of several leaf springs, Chassis Tech lowering blocks were added to position the axle 4 inches upward, and another set of 'bags was added for adjustability. The result is a suspension that isn't great for burnouts but one that will set the framerails on the ground and tuck a good portion of 20-inch Vision rims.
The rest of the restyling equation leans heavily on the tribal flame paint and custom body mods. Again, Jeff went with the DIY theme by tackling most of the work himself. He crafted the custom bedcover, wrapped the interior in two-tone tweed, and installed a boomin' audio system. Gooby's Body Shop in Tempe, Arizona, was responsible for shaving the exterior and laying down the House of Kolor and PPG paint hues that create the striking graphic package. We think you'll dig the pinup girl smokin' the stogie on the tailgate of Jeff's truck. And just to round out an already impressive list of custom touches, Jeff hopped up the anemic 2.2L four-banger engine with products from STS Specialties, Flowmaster, JET, and Centerforce for a truck that not only looks trick but one that can get to the action in a hurry.
The 411
Owner/hometown: Jeff Callahan / Tempe, Arizona
Year/make/model: '98 Isuzu Hombre
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2L four-cylinder / five-speed manual / STS Specialties air intake tube / Flowmaster 2.5-inch stainless steel exhaust system / STS pulleys / JET Stage 2 computer chip / Centerforce Stage 3 clutch / 3.73 limited slip
Wheels/tires: 20x8.5-inch Vision 528 / 255/35ZR20 Yokohama AVS
Suspension: (Front) Belltech 2-inch drop spindles / Firestone 2500 airbags / (Rear) Chassis Tech 4-inch lowering blocks / Firestone 2500 airbags / Chevy S 10 rear antisway bar / 3/8-inch Norgren solenoid valves
Fabricator: Jeff Callahan
Body Mods: Trenz billet grille / Cal-Vu mirrors / custom-built tonneau cover / AIM Industries roll pan / shaved antenna / tailgate
Bodywork: Gooby's Body Shop, of Tempe, Arizona
Custom Paint: PPG Blue and House of Kolor Platinum Pearl by Camal Gooby
Interior: '95 Honda Civic bucket seats / MOMO steering wheel / dark-gray tweed inserts
Upholsterer: Jeff Callahan
Audio/video: Kenwood KUT-910 CD head unit / 10-disc changer / 6.5-inch in dash monitor / Sony PlayStation game console / Diamond Audio HEX 4.5-inch dash speakers / Diamond Audio 6.5-inch door speakers / four Diamond Audio12-inch subwoofers in a custom bed-mounted enclosure with a blow-through hole into the cab / Kenwood KACX401M and X501F amplifiers / Stinger wiring and circuit breaker
Installer: Jeff Callahan


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Insights From Global Supply Chain Ratings – 2015-2019
This fourth edition of the Sustainability Risk and Performance Index: Insights from Global Supply Chain Ratings illustrates the sustainability performance of over 40,000 companies worldwide rated by EcoVadis across 2015-2019.
The report covers:
Analysis of results by sustainability theme (Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.
Performance by industry: We group the ISIC business activity categories of companies we rate into nine "Industry Divisions" and compare by company size (small and medium-sized vs. large).
Comparison of scores across five regions: Europe, North America, Latin America, China, Africa/Middle East/Asia (excluding China).
The report also takes a closer look at the Environment theme with a special deep-dive into greenhouse gas emissions and carbon reporting.
Download the report to view the findings along with a commentary. And if you're craving more information about how your industry or region compares against the others check out Index Online. This friendly interactive tool lets you delve right into it and create customized views, which you can download and share with your colleagues.
Read the full Business Sustainability Risk and Performance Index 2021: Insights from Global Supply Chain Ratings


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I have a small (2000 gallon) pool that I recently filled. I put a couple of 1" chlorine tablets into the skimmer 24 hours ago, and even after running the pump all day, my test strips are not registering any chlorine.
Am I supposed to superchlorinate a new pool to get an initial chlorine level, and then use tablets to maintain it? Or perhaps I should be using more than 2 chlorine tablets?


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How to Book a Disabled Taxi in New York City?
- You can Call 212.705.8773 or Chat, and our reservation assistants are ready to assist you anytime.
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Disabled taxis in New York City are a vital mode of transportation for people with disabilities who are unable to use public transportation or drive a personal vehicle. With the increasing demand for accessible transportation, many companies have entered the market, offering wheelchair taxi services. However, not all companies are created equal. NYC Wheelchair Transportation stands out as the best provider of wheelchair taxi services in the city.
Why NYC Wheelchair Transportation is the Best Choice for Disabled Taxi in New York City
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At NYC Wheelchair Transportation, we believe that accessibility should not come at a premium price. Our rates are competitive and affordable, making it possible for people with disabilities to enjoy the independence and mobility that they deserve. We are committed to providing reliable transportation, and our team of experienced dispatchers ensures that every ride runs smoothly and on time.
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We are proud to be a trusted and preferred provider of wheelchair taxi services in the community. Our reputation is built on a foundation of trust, reliability, and exceptional customer service. We are proud to have served thousands of satisfied customers over the years, and we look forward to continuing to provide the best possible service for many years to come.
In conclusion, NYC Wheelchair Transportation is the best choice for disabled taxi services in New York City. We offer accessibility, convenience, affordability, and reliability, making it possible for people with disabilities to enjoy independent mobility. Our commitment to customer satisfaction experienced drivers, and modern fleet of vehicles set us apart from the competition. Contact us today to schedule your next ride.


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The decision to target and kill Osama Bin Laden is being applauded by all decent people. Approval to capture or kill this mass-murdering terrorist leader was given by Presidents Obama and Bush. It was the right decision, both morally and legally.
Although Bin Laden wore no military uniform and held no official military rank, he was an appropriate military target. As the titular and spiritual head of Al Qaeda, he was the functional equivalent of a head of state or commander in chief of a terrorist army. From the beginning of recorded history, killing the king was the legitimate object of military action. The very phrase "check mate" means "the king is dead, "signifying the successful end of the battle.
Yet there are those who claim that all targeted killings are immoral and illegal. These critics characterize such actions as "extrajudicial executions" and demand that terrorist leaders and functionaries be treated as common criminals who must be arrested and brought to trial.
The operation that resulted in Bin Laden's death was a military action calculated to kill rather than to "arrest" him. It is possible, though highly unlikely, that he could have been captured alive and brought to trial. The decision to employ military personnel with guns, rather than a drone firing rockets, was probably made by generals rather than lawyers.
Had it been militarily preferable to fire a rocket, that option would almost certainly have been selected--as it was by the NATO forces that rocketed Ghadafy's compound. A rocket attack would have been a pure targeted killing with no possibility of live capture. The operation directed against Bin Laden may have been designed, in part, to have preserved the theoretical option of "arrest", though the likelihood of a live capture was virtually impossible under the circumstances. Indeed it is likely that Bin Laden's death was deemed preferential to his capture and trial, because the latter would have raised the probability that Al Qaeda would take hostages and try to exchange them for Bin Laden.
Indeed, a US national security official has confirmed to Reuters that "this was a kill operation" and there was no desire to capture Bin Laden alive. This was a targeted kill appropriate for a military combatant but not for an ordinary (or even extraordinary) criminal.
Nonetheless, our government felt it necessary to announce that Bin Laden was shot after he allegedly resisted thus suggesting he was not killed in cold blood. But it is clear that he would have been killed whether or not he resisted, since this was a kill operation from the outset and it is unlikely he was ever given the opportunity to surrender an opportunity not required under the laws of war.
Accordingly, those who have opposed the very concept of targeted killings should be railing against the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
Among others, these critics include officials in Britain, France, Italy, Russia, the EU, Jordan, and the United Nations. Former British Foreign Secretary once said, "The British government has made it repeatedly clear that so-called targeted assassinations of this kind are unlawful, unjustified and counterproductive." The French foreign ministry has declared "that extrajudicial executions contravene international law and are unacceptable." The Italian Foreign Minister has said, "Italy, like the whole of the European Union, has always condemned the practice of targeted assassinations." The Russians have asserted that "Russia has repeatedly stressed the unacceptability of extrajudicial settling of scores and 'targeted killings.'" Javier Solana has noted that the "European Union has consistently condemned extrajudicial killings." The Jordanians have said, "Jordan has always denounced this policy of assassination and its position on this has always been clear." And Kofi Annan has declared "that extrajudicial killings are violations of international law."
Yet none of these nations, groups or individuals have criticized the targeted killing of Osama Bin Laden by the US. The reason is obvious. All the condemnations against targeted killing was directed at one country. Guess which one? Israel, of course.
Israel developed the concept of targeted killings and used it effectively against the "Osama Bin Laden's" of Hamas, who directed terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, killing and wounding more Israelis, as a percentage of its population, than the number killed by Bin Laden. It was when Israel managed to kill the head of Hamas, that the international community, with the striking exception of the United States, decided that targeted killing was illegal and immoral.
But now that it has been used against an enemy of Britain, France, Italy and other European nations, the tune has changed. Suddenly targeted killing is not only legal and moral, it is praiseworthy (except, of course, to Hamas, which immediately condemned the US killing of Bin Laden).
Well the truth is that when used properly, targeted killing has always been deserving of approval—even when employed by Israel, a nation against which a double standard always seems to be applied.
Indeed, in Israel, the use of targeted killings has been closely regulated by its Supreme Court and permitted only against terrorists who are actively engaged in ongoing acts of terrorism. In the United States, on the other hand, the decisions to use this tactic is made by the President alone, without any form of judicial review. So let the world stop applying a double standard to Israel and let it start judging the merits and demerits of military tactics such as targeted killing. On balance, targeted killing, when used prudently against proper military targets, can be an effective, lawful, and moral tool in the war against terrorism.
Original piece is http://www.hudson-ny.org/2093/targeted-killing-vindicated


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VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI comes home on Thursday to a new house and a new pope, as an unprecedented era begins of a retired pontiff living side-by-side with a reigning one inside the Vatican gardens.
All eyes will be on Benedict's physical state as he is welcomed by Pope Francis at his new retirement home, a converted monastery tucked behind St Peter's Basilica. The last time he was seen by the public - on March 23 - Benedict appeared remarkably more frail and thin than when he left the Vatican on his final day as pope three weeks earlier.
The Vatican spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, has acknowledged Benedict's post-retirement decline but insists the 86-year-old German is not suffering from any ailment and is just old.
"He is a man who is not young: He is old and his strength is slowly ebbing," Rev Lombardi said this week. "However, there is no special illness. He is an old man who is healthy."
Since his Feb. 28 resignation, Benedict has been "hidden to the world" as he himself predicted, living at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, in the hills south of Rome. He chose to leave the Vatican immediately after his resignation to physically remove himself from the process of electing his successor and from Pope Francis' first weeks as pontiff.
His absence also gave workers time to finish up renovations on the monastery on the edge of the Vatican gardens that until last year housed groups of cloistered nuns who were invited for a few years at a time to live inside the Vatican to pray for the pontiff and church at large.
In the small building, with a chapel attached, Benedict will live with his personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, and the four consecrated women who look after him, preparing his meals and tending to the household. Inside the small building, Benedict has at his disposal a small library and a study. A guest room is available for when his brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, comes to visit.
"It is certainly small but well-equipped," Rev Lombardi said.
When Benedict announced his intention to resign - the first pontiff to do so in 600 years - questions immediately swirled about the implications of having two popes living alongside one another inside the Vatican.
Benedict fuelled those concerns when he chose to be called "emeritus pope" and "Your Holiness" rather than "emeritus bishop of Rome". He also raised eyebrows when he chose to continue wearing the white cassock of the papacy.
Given the political intrigues that plague the Vatican, it was not much of a stretch of the imagination to wonder if some cardinals, bishops and monsignors - not to mention ordinary Catholics - might continue making Benedict their point of reference rather than the new Pope.
However, Benedict made clear on his final day as pope that he was renouncing the job and pledged his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his then-unknown successor. It was a pledge he repeated in person on March 23 when Pope Francis went to have lunch with him at Castel Gandolfo.
It was during that visit that the world saw how frail Benedict had become in the three weeks since his emotional departure from the Apostolic Palace: Always a man with a purposeful walk, he shuffled tentatively that day, using his cane.
Pope Francis, for his part, seems utterly unfazed by the novel situation unfolding. He has frequently invoked Benedict's name and work and has called him on a half-dozen occasions, making clear he has no intention of ignoring the fact that there's another pope still very much alive and now living on the other side of the garden from the Vatican hotel where he lives.
Pope Francis' gestures to Benedict during that March 23 visit were also remarkable: He refused to pray on the special papal kneeler in the small chapel of Castel Gandolfo, preferring to join Benedict on a kneeler in the pews, and referring to his predecessor as his "brother". Now that they're neighbours, they might bump into one another on walks in the Vatican gardens or at the shrine to the Madonna on the top of the hill, just a stone's throw from Benedict's new home.


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Fire forces evacuation of campus, homes in Calif.
May 2, 2013
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A wildfire fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds raged along the fringes of Southern California communities on Thursday, forcing evacuation of homes and a university while setting recreational vehicles ablaze.
The blaze erupted during morning rush hour along U.S. 101 in the Camarillo area about 50 miles west of Los Angeles. It was quickly spread by the winds, which also pushed other damaging blazes across the region.
The evacuation orders included the smoke-choked campus of California State University, Channel Islands, attended by about 5,000 students.
Flames quickly moved down slopes toward subdivisions, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. Some 6,500 acres — more than 10 square miles — were charred, with no containment. A cluster of RVs in a parking lot was destroyed as flames moved close to a mobile home park. There were no reports of homes burning.
More than 500 firefighters from multiple agencies with help from aircraft dropping water and retardant worked to protect numerous homes around Camarillo Springs Golf Course and in a section of adjacent Thousand Oaks.
Air tankers had to be grounded in early afternoon because of the winds, which gusted to 50 mph.
"We're at mother nature's mercy right now," county fire spokesman Tom Kruschke told KABC-TV.
The Santa Ana winds sent plumes of smoke and embers over the homes and strawberry fields to the south. At midday, farm sheds burst into flames in a clearing amid rows of crops.
The vegetation-withering dry winds out of the northeast caused humidity levels to plunge from 80 percent to single digits in less than an hour. Temperatures soared into the 90s in Camarillo.
The area is at the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains, which abruptly descend to a coastal agricultural plain. It was possible the flames could burn all the way to the Pacific Ocean, about 10 miles from the start point. The California Highway Patrol closed a 10-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway at Point Mugu.
Freddy Aoygio watched flames creep to within about 30 feet of her back door in the Camarillo Springs area. She had packed important papers and photos in her car in case she was ordered to leave.
"We'll keep our fingers and toes crossed," she told the Ventura County Star. "That's all we can do."
About 100 miles to the east, two homes, a number of outbuildings and several vehicles were destroyed, and two other homes were damaged in a 5-acre grass fire that prompted the evacuation of an elementary school in Jurupa Valley, said Theresa Williams, a spokeswoman for CalFire.
The blazes could signal a difficult fire season ahead.
Officials with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise said Wednesday in their first 2013 summer outlook that a dry winter and expected warming trend mean the potential for significant fire activity will be above normal on the West Coast, in the Southwest and portions of Idaho and Montana.
Meanwhile, the California Department of Water Resources found the water content in the snowpack was just 17 percent of normal. The snowmelt is a vital water source for the state.
Elsewhere in California, crews made progress overnight on a 4½-square-mile fire burning in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains north of Banning, but winds returned on Thursday morning, Riverside County fire spokeswoman Jody Hagemann said.
The fire that burned a home on Wednesday was 40 percent contained with only sporadic flames showing, but renewed winds gusting to 40 mph could halt that progress.
The blaze was being fought by aircraft and nearly 700 firefighters. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Hundreds of people briefly evacuated homes.
A stand from firefighters came too late for Joe Kiener, 53, who lost the house he had lived in since his mother bought it in the 1970s.
Kiener was home on a lunch break when he stepped outside to check on his barking dog and saw heavy smoke approaching. He took the dog and started to leave just as a deputy arrived to tell him to evacuate.
"When I left I went around the corner and I got engulfed in a big cloud of smoke," said Kiener.
He got out safely, but the next time he saw the house was in a cellphone picture sent by his neighbor. The roof was on fire, and he knew it would be destroyed, but he shrugged off the loss.
In Northern California, crews were able to hold the line against two wind-whipped wildfires, but one in Tehama County continued to grow.
The Panther Fire north of the town of Butte Meadows had spread to 2,000 acres with 10 percent containment. The fire was burning in a remote area of brush and timber and is not threatening any homes, state fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
A fire in Sonoma County that has burned 125 acres did not grow overnight. Full containment on the Yellow Fire was expected later in the day, Berlant said.
Two smaller fires totaling 165 acres were burning in Glenn and Butte counties. Berlant said crews were also able to hold the line against one of those fires, the 55-acre Cedar Fire in Butte County, but wind was expected to be a factor.
Weather forecasts called for red flag conditions of extreme fire danger in canyons, foothills and mountain passes because of the winds, coupled with hot, dry weather.
Several other small fires were reported in widely separated areas near freeways.
CHRISTOPHER WEBER,Associated Press
AP writers Raquel Maria Dillon contributed from Banning, Robert Jablon contributed from Los Angeles.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.


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Buy my books. They pay for my writing, since I don't teach. Credible offers welcome, though,
Thursday, February 24, 2011
My Facts (Includes true personal George Clooney and Jorge L Borges anecdotes)
9 comments:
- AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 5:18 PM
Great stuff. The Beckett especially. Never felt anything similar.
Keep posting.
Frank Moliterno I'm glad you think it's a great book. And yes, the movie was exceptionally enjoyable, I thought, though it was very much the personal vision of the writer-director and was, in an odd way, both less comic and less tragic than the novel. Both were about loneliness, though, and addiction, perhaps, and how all that is solid is melting into air -- and now air is melting into code. We evolved to live on earth. Are we really prepared to leave it? Anyway, the transition from book to movie from the point of view of the book writer. It's like a mushroom trip going out of control. Faces swell. The heart pounds. Weird moments of existential desolation descend. Then all of a sudden everyone is laughing. You're not sure why. Then you grow very, very tired. When you wake up you have crazy cool memories but you feel neurologically, spiritually depleted. It's like that,
ReplyDelete- AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 8:39 PM
i watched up in the air on hbo last christmas with my folks, and i was a bit worried that it would be a tale of george clooney handsomely jettisoning all emotional attachments and becoming an air-based sex robot and isn't this a wonderful brave new world? if it was that story, i would've hated it--i moved around a lot as a kid, therefore most of my relationships are 2- to 3-year fragments of fading memory, nothing worth hanging your hat on (though that's changed a bit over the past 5 years). when i was younger, i fancied myself a crusading world traveler who would need or be needed by no one, but i think i was just validating my failure to make lasting relationships and my overwhelming hatred for the exurbs. believe it or not, i really like the idea of rootedness and stability and interdependence--and i kind of feel bad about it, like i'm giving up on my earlier pretense towards rugged individualism. i was worried up in the air would make me feel worse about wanting roots but it actually made me feel better about it and work through some shit. anyway i should probably read the book
ReplyDelete I've watched Robert Downey Jr.'s career since maybe The Pick-Up Artist and thoroughly enjoy him. Read your piece on him and thought it was articulate and observant. If I were ever to write a screenplay he'd be a muse for me to be certain.
I'm happy you're blogging. It's nice to read a blog where the writer is indeed a writer.Celebrity encounters are like emotional drive-bys because sometimes they date-stamp themselves into your memory. I once met Illya Kuryakin (aka David McCallum) in an audition waiting room in 1993. Perhaps not Beckett, but I was equally speechless because I figured Illya would have known Kafka.


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20 March 2013 | News | By BioSpectrum Bureau
Weisheng Pharmaceutical and China Pharmaceutical settled the case out of court by offering to pay $22.5 million
Singapore: A US court has fined North China Pharmaceutical (NCPC), a vitamin C manufacturer and antibiotics supplier, $162 million for price fixing. This is the first time that a Chinese drug company has been fined in an US anti-trust case.
Weisheng Pharmaceutical and China Pharmaceutical, also Vitamin C manufacturers from China and named in the lawsuit, have settled the case out of court by offering to pay $22.5 million. NCPC manufacturers over 430 kinds of antibiotics, semi-synthetic antibiotics, pharmaceutical intermediates, vitamins, biotechnology products, veterinary and neutraceuticals both in bulk and in finished products.
NCPC and Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical, its Vitamin C production unit, were found guilty in a conspiracy to fix prices of Vitamin C' tablets in the US. The lawsuit were filed last month by two US companies. The NCPC reportedly said it would appeal the ruling.


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Forum Post: GUN MONSTROSITY: 2nd Amendment False God Kills Again ~ Enough!
Posted 10 years ago on Oct. 22, 2013, 5:55 a.m. EST by WSmith
from Cornelius, OR
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
OUR GUN MONSTROSITY: Gun Worshiper's 2nd Amendment False God KILLS AGAIN
This Requires a GUN:
Nevada school shooting: Teacher killed, two students wounded
By Catherine E. Shoichet. Amanda Watts and Chuck Johnston, CNN updated 11:14 PM EDT, Mon October 21, 2013
(CNN) -- A student opening fire with a handgun he took from his parents. Screaming students running for cover. A teacher, trying to help, shot dead. Two students wounded. The terror lasted just a few brutal minutes.
As authorities investigated, details were still trickling out hours after a deadly shooting Monday at a Nevada middle school.
One official described the scene at Sparks Middle School with one word: chaos. Students described to CNN how they ran into the school screaming and crying when they realized the pops they heard were gunshots just before the morning bell welcomed them back from fall break.
The shooter took a handgun from his parents, a federal law enforcement source who was briefed on the situation told CNN's Evan Perez.
This Requires a GUN:
Nev. student opens fire, kills teacher and himself
AP| By SCOTT SONNER 4 hours ago
SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — A student at a Nevada middle school opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun on campus just before the starting bell Monday, wounding two 12-year-old boys and killing a math teacher who was trying to protect children from their classmate.
The unidentified shooter killed himself with the gun after a rampage that occurred in front of 20 to 30 horrified students who had just returned to school from a weeklong fall break. Authorities did not provide a motive for the shooting, and it's unknown where the student got the gun.
No GUN, No Gun Deaths
2 Dead, 2 Wounded In Nevada School Shooting
by Scott Neuman | NPR | October 21, 201312:41 PM
We have the stupidest gun laws in the modern world, WTFU!!
Imagine a Future Free from Gun Violence
We're Done Asking:


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Shivani of My Owl Barn lets you customize a printable 2011 Owl Lover Calendar featuring the work of 30 artists. This free calendar makes a great gift to a fellow crafter or fellow lover of all things cute. I mean, how much cuter can you get with these owls? Just choose the owl/artist you would like for each month of the year and generate your own special downloadable PDF. Print it out on nice paper and package it up as a special gift for those you love for the holidays. Pictured above is the owl artistry of Nikki Catalano. [via How About Orange]
Join Make: Community Today


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We've said it before and we'll say it again: calling the future best-selling smartphone in the world "disappointing" is a bit of a reach. DigiTimes' infamous anonymous industry sources are running with it, however, and they think smartphone vendors that sell Android and Windows Phone-powered handsets will benefit from the opportunity Apple's new iPhone will afford them. "The newly released iPhone 4S lags behind some mainstream smartphones as far as specifications are concerned," the site's sources said, because we all know how concerned the everyman is with specs. Companies like HTC, Samsung and Nokia, the sources continued, now have a chance to "expand their market shares with innovative models." Read on for more.
DigiTimes says Apple's new iPhone 4S lacks the larger screen and NFC support found on current and upcoming smartphones from its competitors. The report also points out that companies like HTC and Samsung have already launched devices that support high-speed 4G LTE wireless networks, while Apple's iPhone 4S only supports HSPA 14.4. While 4G devices have indeed been selling well for Android vendors, they haven't managed to make much of a dent in Apple's smartphone sales to date. Apple was the world's No. 1 smartphone vendor in the second quarter with just two handsets on the market, the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4.
The report's sources wrapped things up by claiming that Apple's efforts to attack the low-end market with a free iPhone 3GS and a $99 iPhone 4 will be futile. "Although Apple also launched an entry-level 8GB iPhone 4 and cut the price of its iPhone 3GS, the effectiveness of such tactics will be limited as iPhone fans will still prefer to buy new models and the low-priced iPhones will not be able to compete with Android phones in the entry-level segment," the sources told DigiTimes.


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This article is more than 1 year old
US startup launches online airwaves market
Secondhand spectrum swap
Spectrum trading - the ability for licence holders to sell on, or sub let, their frequencies - has been broadly endorsed by both the FCC and Ofcom, so now a US company has done the obvious thing and set up a market for the buying and selling of radio frequencies.
SpecEx is launched today, with spectrum worth $250 million up for sale including everything from national two-way paging frequencies to point-to-point connections in specific locations. The site is being run by Spectrum Bridge Inc., which raised $2m in seed funding to put together the service to connect buyers with sellers.
$250 million is, of course, a drop in the ocean compared to the billions spent on spectrum, but it only represents what's on the market right now, and what Spectrum Bridge have managed to convince owners to hawk through the service.
They aren't the first to try either, as the Wall Street Journal reports. But previous efforts have failed to find enough buyers and sellers to sustain the market. This time around, spectrum use is less constricted, and with the FCC not planning any major sell-offs for a while yet, there's nowhere else for a prospective licensee to go.
The FCC will have to approve any exchange of spectrum, or even a sub-letting, but the service is a logical extension to the liberalisation of radio licensing, which has already seen some licensees buying spectrum with the avowed intention of reselling it at a profit.
Spectrum Bridge likes to draw similes with the property industry, which chimes with how our own Ofcom relates to spectrum, so they see SpecEx as an estate agent putting buyers in touch with sellers - though hopefully without the dodgy cologne and excessive use of superlatives.
Spectrum trading is inevitable, and there's clearly a need for a central repository, the only question is if SpecEx will be the company that makes a success of it, but the site is worth visiting if only to watch the mildly hypnotic display of available frequencies flashing by. ®


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Yes. Throw them in with your mixed paper recycling.
Show All Answers
Recycling is responsible resource management. Recycling reduces pollution, saves energy and saves the Town of Reading money. By recycling, we save on the cost of incinerating our trash, currently about $63.02/ton. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees. The items that we recycle become other useful products.
The Town of Reading has weekly mandatory recycling collection, your recycling is now collected every week on the same day your trash is picked up.
When there is a holiday, collections will be delayed one day after holiday occurs (e.g. if your usual day is Monday and Monday is a holiday, your trash/recycling day will be Tuesday. Friday's pickup will be on Saturday that week). If the holiday falls on a Thursday (e.g. Thanksgiving), only Thursday and Friday's collections would be affected.
Residents can place their recycling at the curb next to their trash barrel the night before after 4 pm and no later than 6 am on their recycling collection day.
Due to the current uncertainty of the recycling market, residents are strongly encouraged to "Go Back to Basics," by recycling acceptable paper, rinsed plastic containers, rinsed glass containers, or clean metal cans.
Paper: Newspapers including inserts, magazines, catalogs, phone books, junk mail, clean pizza boxes, clean paperboard such as cereal / pasta boxes and egg cartons and flattened cardboard no larger than 4 by 4 feet are some of the paper type items.
Commingled Items: Rinsed plastic containers, rinsed glass containers, and clean metal cans.
For all other questions on whether an item can be recycled in the weekly recycling collection, please refer to the website Recycle Smart for more information, or contact the Department of Public Works at 781-942-9077.
Recycling bins containing unacceptable items, will be stickered, left curbside, and the residents will be asked to remove any unacceptable items. Drivers will not be sorting curbside. If recycling is left behind, it will be picked up on the following week's collection schedule, provided the unacceptable items have been removed.
All clean glass, clean plastic and clean metal containers, can be commingled and placed in your recycling bin or a barrel clearly marked recycling. All newspapers, cereal boxes, junk mail and magazines should be placed in the recycling bin or a clearly marked container with a recycling sticker. Cardboard should be flattened and in bundles no larger than 4 feet by 4 feet by 6 inches thick.
Yes, rinsing reduces odors and discourages pests. All glass, plastic and metal containers, can be placed together in your recycling bin.
Styrofoam collection will consist only of the following: clean, white Number 6 PS preformed block and sheet, collected Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm at the DPW Garage, 75 Newcrossing Road. No food containers of any kind, and no colored Styrofoam. If pizza boxes are clean and free of food particles, they can be recycled.
Yes. You can use your red bin or a trash barrel of your choosing that is clearly marked recycling.
A red recycling bin and stickers are available at the Department of Public Works Facility Garage, 75 New Crossing Road or at the DPW Administrative Office in the lower level of Town Hall at 16 Lowell Street.
Yes, the Town will schedule 5 weeks of curbside leaf collection per year. The contractor will pick up Kraft paper bagged leaves 3 weeks in the fall and 2 weeks in the spring. There is no charge for curbside collection.
The Town operates a compost site at Strout Ave that is opened from April thru November. Residents must purchase a Compost Sticker at the Police Station or a Compost Card Permit at the D.P.W. Administration Office in Town Hall.
For both curbside and drop off services, go to https://order.toughstuffrecycling.com/ or call Tough Stuff Recycling Customer Service: 978-307-4118.
Residents who want to recycle their Christmas trees are asked to bring them to compost facility when open it is open.
No, the town does not have the ability to pick up any construction and demolition material with either trash or recycling. This category generally includes siding, doors, asphalt, bricks, concrete and other masonry materials, soil, rock, wall coverings, drywall, plumbing fixtures, insulation, roofing shingles, plate glass, metal, wood waste, and electrical wires.
Latex paint can be dried out (solidify with kitty litter or with specifically designed products that are now available) and placed in the trash. Oil based paints, chemical and other household hazardous waste should be brought to the Town's annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection day. For more information, call the Department of Public Works 781-942-9077.
Thermometers, thermostats, mercury switches and button batteries can be brought to the D.P.W. Garage, 75 New Crossing Road 8 am. to 2:30 pm (Monday through Friday)
Fluorescent lamps should also be brought to the D.P.W. Garage.
Household appliances (stoves, air conditioners, refrigerators, washers and dryers) are picked up on Fridays only by Republic. Call them directly at 1-800-442-9006 to arrange payment ($35 fee per appliance) and schedule the pickup. Once payment is received, no refunds are granted.
TVs and CRTs (computer monitors) are not allowed with regular trash or recycling. These items can be picked up weekly by calling Republic directly at 1-800-442-9006 and arranging payment and scheduling the pickup. Republic will pick up television sets and monitors on Fridays only.
Most electronics can be recycled at the drop-off center at the garage (no TVs or monitors), or can be put out any week with the regular trash. Computers (except for computer monitors, see above), and accessories such as printers, scanners, and faxes may be discarded in the regular trash. However, if they are useable, first try to find a place where they can be put to use.
No. You can use any re-usable container for your recycling. Just label it clearly with a "Recycling Sticker" available through the DPW Administration office at 16 Lowell Street.


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The Force be with you for Star Wars exhibition
An exclusive collection of 200 props, models, costumes and artwork from the iconic Star Wars films is on display.
Visitors are taken on an interactive identity quest, leaving with their own personalised and unique Star Wars character.
A team of experts is behind the scientific content of the exhibition including the fields of genetics, neuropsychology and psychology.
For almost 40 years, audiences around the world have followed the adventures of Anakin and Luke Skywalker, cinema's most famous father and son duo.
Now, Star Wars Identities presents a redefined modern exhibition experience in which visitors can rediscover the unforgettable characters of Star Wars in a whole new way.
Through the collection on display, an interactive identity quest and insightful scientific content, visitors will develop a better understanding of what makes the characters of Star Wars who they are, and at the same time explore their own identity with one question - what forces shape you?
"This exhibition offers a fresh perspective on the beloved characters of Star Wars," said Jacques-Andre Dupont, president and executive producer of X3 Productions who developed it in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd.
"We get a deeper understanding of their identities and, at the same time, we get a deeper understanding of our own.
"The collection, the interactive components and the scientific content work hand in hand here to create a seamless and exciting experience for our visitors. It's a character driven adventure into identity."
The study of identity has been divided into three major themes: the origins of the characters, the influences that shape them, and the choices they make during their life.
Within these three themes, 10 components of human identity are explored: species, genes, parents and culture in Origins; mentors, friends and marking events in Influences; and occupation, personality and values in the final zone, Choices.
These components form the backbone of the exhibition, exploring the complex notion of identity both in the real world and in creative fiction.
Original content throughout the exhibition sheds light on each of the components of identity; while simultaneously, 'making-of' featurettes explore the stories behind the development of many iconic Star Wars characters, explaining how they became who they are, and showing how different creative choices could have made them different characters altogether.
Star Wars Identities is at the O2 until Sunday, September 3.
The exhibition is open from 10am - 6pm each day with slots every 15 minutes. Ticket prices start from £20 for adults but vary with discounts for off peak times and concessions. Children under five are admitted free.
Ninety minutes is advised for the tour.
Car parking is available but may have to be pre-booked. There is a limit on the size of bag allowed into the exhibition.
For a complete schedule and ticket information visit www.theo2.co.uk/starwars or www.starwarsidentities.com


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Rihanna & Chris Brown TOGETHER Again... on "Birthday Cake" & "Turn Up The Music"
Rihanna and Chris Brown We're TOGETHER Again ... on 2 New Songs
Rihanna and Chris Brown have reconciled ... at least professionally ... because the former couple have collaborated on 2 brand new songs.
It's only been 3 years since Brown pummeled Rihanna's face during a late night argument in L.A. ... but the singer and her ex-con ex-BF have each released songs featuring the other's voice. One is a remix of Rihanna's song, "Birthday Cake" and the other is a new version of Chris Brown's, "Turn Up the Music (below)."
Waiting for your permission to load Vimeo video.
Both songs hit the Internet this week ... and both Rihanna and Brown have been pushing the songs on Twitter.
The songs seem to prove the rumors ... that Rihanna has forgiven Brown and is willing to move on. Earlier this week, Brown tweeted Rihanna "Happy Birthday" ... and Rihanna actually responded, "Thanks."
Rihanna is currently in London (see photo above) ... and Chris Brown was most recently seen in Miami.
As we previously reported, Brown is currently in a relationship with a woman named Karrueche Tran ... and we're told the two seem very happy together.